One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

Saturday, March 04, 2017

This
week, I begin reviews of another Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday morning series
of the 1970s: Lidsville (1971-1973).

As
you may recall, the series is live-action in nature, and all seventeen episodes
aired on ABC. That’s just one season, though reruns also aired on ABC in 1972-1973. The series was something of a pop culture
phenomenon, at least for a while, and much vintage merchandise (lunch boxes,
board games, Halloween costumes, etc.) from the series was produced.

Very
much like H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), Lidsville is a trippy -- meaning apparently drug-fueled -- series
about a young man stranded in a fantasy world and attempting to return
home. In this case, however, the fantasy
land of Lidsville is a world of living, talking hats.

Butch
Patrick stars as the displaced teen, Mark, and the first episode “World in a
Hat,” begins his bizarre and colorful odyssey.

After
watching Merlo the Magician (Charles Nelson Reilly) at Six Flags Amusement Park
in Texas, Mark tries to learn his secret by sneaking backstage. When he gazes
into Merlo’s hat -- which has grown to gargantuan proportions -- Mark falls inside.
He tumbles through a vortex and emerges in a strange world of colorful
characters and bizarre landscapes.

First,
Mark is captured by the malevolent but incompetent tyrant Hoo Doo (Charles
Nelson Reilly), who believes him to be a spy. Fortunately, Mark also encounters
a friendly genie, named Weenie (Billie Hayes) who claims she may be able to
send him home.

Together
they escape Hoo Doo’s grasp, but face the challenges of the Shampoo River.

Fortunately,
the hat denizens of Lidsville rescue the Mark and Weenie, and give them haven
from the evil Hoo Doo.

“World
in a Hat” establishes the premise of Lidsville well. First we meet Mark, and are told he hails
from Jackson City. He notes that he just wants to get home to his friends and
family. This means the longer that he is
stuck in this bizarre world, the longer he is separated from those he loves.
His quest, like Dorothy’s in The Wizard of Oz, is to return to
the world where belongs.

We
also meet here Mark’s allies, namely the goofy Weenie, and the people of
Lidsville…who are hats. We meet here,
for instance, Mother Wheels (a motorcycle helmet) who drives Weenie and Mark
through The Hair Forest.

Some
of the hat characters are voiced in the style of famous characters or actors. One
hat talks with a John Wayne-styled voice, another exactly like Charlie Chan.

Finally,
we encounter the villains of the series, Hoo-Doo and his posse of incompetent,
bungling minions. Among them is Raunchy Rabbit, Jack of Clubs…a deck of cards,
and Mr. Big, a gangster whose body is actually a fedora. His base is a top hat,
and inside it is a miniature band that plays at inopportune moments.

If
this all sounds weird or surreal, well, it certainly is. The whole episode is
weirdly frenetic and impressionistic, with an oppressive laugh track blanketing
the half-hour, and removing any real opportunity to assess if the show is
actually funny, or just strange.

Although
The
Bugaloos (1970) falls between H.R. PufnStuf and Lidsville,
this series nonetheless feels like a sideways remake of earlier Krofft series.
A boy gets lost in a fantasy world, makes an enemy who can use magic, and
befriends lots of weird characters, who are given life in elaborate and bizarre
costumes. The “hat” angle is really the
only new wrinkle.

Then
again, this show does feature Charles Nelson Reilly, which automatically lands
Lidsville in new territory, if you ask me.

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

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"...some of the best writing about the genre has been done by John Kenneth Muir. I am particularly grateful to him for the time and attention he's paid to things others have overlooked, under-appreciated and often written off. His is a fan's perspective first, but with a critic's eye to theme and underscore, to influence and pastiche..." - Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, in the foreword to Horror Films FAQ (October 2013).

"Hands down, John Kenneth Muir is one of the finest critics and writers working today. His deep analysis of contemporary American culture is always illuminating and insightful. John's film writing and criticism is outstanding and a great place to start for any budding writer, but one should also examine his work on comic books, TV, and music. His weighty catalog of books and essays combined with his significant blog production places him at the top of pop culture writers. Johns work is essential in understanding the centrality of culture in modern society." - Professor Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Executive Director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College (2014).

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